Chapter 1 - Intro - Notes

Intro

• What is critical thinking?
  • Asking questions, examining assumptions, weighing the validity of arguments when reading, thinking, learning
• Utilize strategies to effectively make intelligent decisions
• Critical thinkers introspect about their own thinking processes, they work on knowing their biases, listening to others ideas and becoming informed enough to form their own opinions and make judgements
• The word "critical" comes from the Greek work kritikos - meaning questions, analyze, or make sense of something
• Trying to assess the truth of a given matter

Critical thinking about business

• Information is constantly thrown at us
• Top 3 books in North America published in the past three decades:
  • Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar
    • About corporate takeover of tobacco and food processing company
  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lesson in Personal Change by Stephen Covey
    • Self-help book that people have found inspiring and applicable everywhere in their lives
  • The E Myth Revisited: Why Most Businesses Don't Work and What to Do bout It by Michael E. Gerber
  • Goes on and on and on

Buyer beware

• We count on experts A LOT
  • how to get a job, how to invest for retirement, how to deal with difficult people at work, etc.
• Bestselling books can just be a marketing thing, not necessarily a indicator of worthiness of the CONTENTS of the book
• Experts disagree with each other, and so we must be critical thinkers when it comes to advice from experts
• We are constantly fed information and things we already believe
  • If I believe genetically modified (GM) foods are unsafe to eat, my friends will send me links to it, social media apps will push it
• We have a clear, yet unconscious, preference for information that supports our original beliefs - this is confirmation bias
• False information is abundant and spreads WILDLY!
  • Business executives frequently monitor the online information about their brands, logos, etc. to combat this

The sponge

• Used to demonstrate a procedure we should avoid when reading or listening to others
• Sponges just sit there and soak up liquid - readers who act like this simply soak up information

Dimensions of critical thinking

• Critical thinking process can be divided into 5 major parts
  • First, it's purposeful. Using thinking strategies, we are trying to settle a problem, develop an answer to a question, or decide on appropriate action
    • It benefits us to ensure our thinking is directed at a significant and useful purpose and that we state clearly the issue at hand
    • This is in Chapter 2, focusing on the central claims of business texts.
  • Second dimension looks at quality of data and reasons that are available to support claims
    • Are sufficient reasons provided? Is the information accurate? etc.
    • These questions examine the quality of the evidence (Chapter 3)
  • Third dimension is considering that claims and evidence selected to support them are powerfully shaped by basic assumptions
    • Can we identify the POVs that underlie the stated beliefs and evaluate strengths/weaknesses
    • Chapter 4 handles considering our own underlying assumptions and values
  • Fourth dimension focuses on interferences about cause and effect
    • There's lots of "If you do X in your firm, Y will be the result" but in (Ch. 5) we'll see these are causal claims.
  • Fifth dimension is to consider the way in which ideas are expressed in order to persuade the audience.
    • Consider the way in which key concepts are presented, how contradictory evidence is managed, how words can sway judgements, etc.
    • Chapter 6 focuses on these techniques of persuation

An example

About the underground economy:


Questions to consider:

1. How relevant are Richard's household expenses to the argument that he should not pay taxes?
2. Does the anecdote about Richard affect the persuasiveness of the author's conclusion?
3. Is tax reduction better than enforcement? Will compliance really increase if taxes are reduced?
4. What is the effect of phrases such as "potholed roads", "fat, indexed pensions", "government spies"?
5. Why does the author say that more stringent enforcement "misses the point"?
6. Who are the people likely to join the Canadian Taxpayers Federation? What is the effect of noting there are 70,000 members?
7. What is the position of the author of this piece? In fact, who is the author and what is their background?
8. In my opinion, what are the reasons people evade taxes? Which, if any, are morally justified?
9. Does it matter if they're morally justified? Who gets to decide that?

Critical thinking and effective communication

• Critical thinking helps to improve your own arguments when you write or speak
• Be able to avoid fallacies in reasoning, explore your own underlying assumptions, deal with evidence that opposes your views